


Mermaids and Avatars

by ramblingraccoon



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Mermaids, Pirates, Sailing the high seas, Zutara, fun times, yay zutara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-10-30 03:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17821271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ramblingraccoon/pseuds/ramblingraccoon
Summary: In this AU, The Fire Nation has completely lost their bending. They're tearing the world apart looking for a mythical stone to help them regain their bending. Everyone continues to live in terror of them, as the Avatar has vanished and can no longer restore balance. Will our motley crew of heroes find him before it's too late? Read for fun shenanigans, mermaids, and pirates!





	1. Beginnings

Katara couldn't remember a time they had been at peace with the Fire Nation. But in recent years, the raids on her tribe seemed to have gotten worse

She had heard stories about the large mermaid communities who used to inhabit the waters of the South Pole.

But then Sozin's comet had arrived and the world was thrown into chaos. Fire Lord Sozin tried to harness the power of the comet, but it backfired. He ended up dead, and the ability to firebend disappeared completely

In their quest to maintain power, the Fire Nation started killing off benders and started a worldwide search for the Avatar. Even the mermaids, witches and others who had cohabitated peacefully with humans for so long found themselves being picked off. The world hoped for the avatar to save them, but he had disappeared.

There was nothing left to do but watch the Fire Nation conquer everything.

The raids had been coming and going since long before Katara was born. They used to be bearable, and didn't really affect their family.

But then her mother was killed protecting her; all she had left of her was a necklace.

Her father had gone to fight a long time ago.

Katara and her brother had no idea where he was now.

The raids grew more aggressive and their dwindling tribe continued to lose hope they didn't even know they had anymore.

Friendly contact with humans was a thing of the past- no one was courageous enough to go above the water anymore.

The merpeople coached each other on what to do if they were captured.

Stay silent.

Pretend to know nothing.

Act useless.

Run if you can.

A net hurtled through the water, narrowly missing Katara. Her brother grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "Katara! Get moving!"

"I am!" she snapped back. With a powerful thrust of her tail, she sped through the water, trying to get away from the scene.

Sometimes when other mermaids were taken, Katara found herself feeling relieved. Guilty, but relieved. Others being captured meant she and her brother would be spared a while longer.

Now, she focused only on getting to the small alcove she and her brother had found a few months ago. That was their safe spot- too deep for even the Fire Nation and their high-tech weapons.

A cannon fired overhead and she startled, fear propelling her to the cave. The amount of mermaids in this area was smaller, which meant a smaller chance of the ship coming to this area. Releasing a shaky breath, she turned to talk to her brother- but he wasn't next to her.

Crap.

"Sokka… Sokka?!" She went back the direction she came, pushed forward by her rising panic. Had he been captured? The plan had always been to save herself, but she couldn't do this without her brother. Not without the only person she could trust. Not without the one person who helped make this constantly terrifying experience somewhat bearable. He couldn't be taken.

Mustering her courage, she shot up to the surface.

It had been too long- the air practically slapped her in the face. Gasping for breath, she swam towards the hulking metal ship.

If any of the other mermaids had even bothered to look at her, they would've thought she was crazy. What sane merperson would want to get captured?

Katara couldn't see her brother anywhere. Maybe he was still with the mermaids, she considered. Maybe they took someone else. Maybe-

All thoughts vanished from her brain when she saw his skinny form thrashing helplessly against a net made of black rope. She paddled towards him, keeping her eyes on the crane lifting him into the air.

To save him, she had to get on that ship. For the first time in her life, she hoped the Fire Nation boat would notice her.

And it actually happened.

A crewmember with a large golden tube (telescope?) pointed at her excitedly, waving a few of his friends over.

For a moment, Katara's panic was replaced with surprise. These were humans! She couldn't remember the last time she had seen one.

She saw a similar net be thrown over her and lay still as they pulled her up.

When she was unceremoniously thrown onto the deck, she made eye contact with Sokka. She didn't hear the whistles of the crew or the shouted arguments. All she saw was his face, and the fear and slight relief written on it.

I'm here to help you. She tried to communicate.

"Put them in the tanks!" The dialect was different, but Katara could understand it. Her father had made her brother and her learn the Common Language 'just in case'. She hadn't practiced in a while, but if she listened hard and thought carefully enough, she could translate.

She had seen tanks before in the shipwrecks below. Small glass boxes, with not nearly enough room to hold a nearly full-grown mermaid.

She lay gasping at the cold air on the deck, staring up at the sky and praying for Tui and La to save them. Two rough hands grabbed her under the armpits and plopped her roughly down in a container.

Katara let out a quiet hiss of pain when she landed on her rump. It wasn't a very big tank- her tail had to fold to fit. The lack of water in the box made it worse. She could survive on land, but she felt most comfortable surrounded by water.

As the mermaid siblings fidgeted and tried to get comfortable, a man suggested the crew get the 'boss'. There was a shouted discussion, making Katara's head throb slightly and then finally, finally they left.

She and her brother were alone.

"Are you alright?" Katara whispered, reaching over to push against Sokka's tank.

He nodded, uncharacteristically serious. "Why did you come back?"

"You would've done the same."

The siblings sat in silence, minds racing as they tried to figure out a plan.

"Katara, we're on the main deck of the ship," Sokka stated.

"So…"

"Which means if we get to the edge and hit the water before they notice…"

"...we have a chance at getting away," Katara finished. It wasn't a very complicated or good plan. But it was the best they could do, and they were desparate.

"Follow my lead." Sokka used his arms to hoist himself out of the tiny tank, landing with a thunk on the metal ship.

Katara followed his lead, wincing slightly when she hit the surface of the boat. That was going to leave bruises.

She began clawing her way across, using strength she didn't even know she had left. Her dark blue tail dragged behind her as she made her way towards the sea. Being above water was uncomfortable, and she was itching to dive back in.

The first crewmember noticed them around the three quarters mark. He started shouting and she willed herself to go faster. Not much longer until others started arriving on the scene.

"We're almost there Katara. Hang on," Sokka said, sounding slightly tired.

The people were finally listening to the alarm and arriving on deck.

There was no way both of them could escape.

Footsteps.

Katara was right behind Sokka as he reached the edge. One of the men reached towards him and she did the only thing she could think of-

As her teeth sank into a pale arm she heard a yell and felt herself being flung off to the side.

She landed hard on her side and saw Sokka shoot her a worried glance.

"Keep going fool!" she shouted out, forgetting to pretend she didn't know how to speak.

For a moment he looked as though he might protest, but he must have seen the desperation in her eyes.

Even he must have realized he was the only one who could leave. Otherwise all this would have been in vain. Slapping his tail against the deck, he launched himself into the air.

Too late, one of the men reached for him but he had slipped past his arms. The boat's crew shouted at each other to ready the nets again, but Sokka was off. Preparing the nets and weapons again would take too much time.

Katara saw him take a last look back before diving into the dark depths below.


	2. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Katara becomes human

They just put her in the hold of the ship after that.

She was back in the tank, wallowing in the small amount of water and darkness. Her brother was safe- her mission was over. Now Katara had to get herself out. But there was little hope of doing that now.

The ship had started moving, and she could practically feel her home being ripped away from her.

It felt awful. Who knew how long it would be until she saw the cold waters of the South Pole again, or even if she would? No, it would do better to not think like that. Optimism was important. Even though everything sucked.

The cool water in the tank sloshed slightly, and she tried to shift to a more comfortable position. Which there was no room to do. Nice.

A door in the ceiling opened up, sending a beam of light down. Katara squinted at it, watching a figure climb down the ladder and walk towards her.

But then the door closed again and the light was gone. She apprehensively waited for whatever cruel torture awaited her, but none came. Instead, she heard a whoosh- a lantern in the figure's hand turned on, and she saw the fire illuminate a man's scarred face.

She couldn't help it. She gasped. But he didn't even notice, analyzing her carefully. He frowned at the bruises on her before pulling out a small box. In the silence, Katara peered over the edge of it, noticing a small needle going completely haywire.

He frowned again. "What did you do to my compass?"

Compass? Then Katara remembered. She had found one of those in a shipwreck once, but didn't really care much for it. It was an old thing which didn't work anyway. Regardless, she hissed at him, acting like she hadn't understood a single word he was saying.

"I said," he said, over enunciating every syllable. "You're making my compass go haywire. It started doing this when you got on the ship. What did you do?"

She gave him a blank stare before slapping her tail aggressively and spraying what little water there was all over him. She felt a small prick of amusement when she saw the look of annoyance cross his face. Maybe she could annoy him into letting her go. But the scowl on his face said otherwise.

"Whatever. June will figure this out," he grumbled, before heading back up the ladder. As the door slammed behind him, Katara saw the last of the light leave and the hold fade into darkness.

June turned out to be a witch on one of the southern Fire Nation islands.

The same man who had visited her in the hold led a group of crewmembers into lugging her tank to a large mansion on top of a hill. He was the captain probably.

Katara looked around interestedly. The change in climate and landscape was already obvious. The air was slightly warmer and slightly more humid and everything around her was a burnt, sandy color. Like the South Pole, there wasn't much in the way of vegetation. But she still reached out a hand to touch the sharp, dry grasses, wincing when a crew member slapped her hand away.

Rude.

By the time they reached June's ridiculously oversized house, everyone was sweating. Before they had even knocked, the door swung open to reveal a gorgeous woman with a spiral tattoo on her bicep.

"You again?!" she exclaimed when her eyes fell on the captain.

"Nice to see you June," he retorted coldly. "I need your help. That compass you gave me isn't working anymore."

She rolled her eyes. "Not my problem, Zuko," she went to close the door, but he kept it propped open.

"My father will not appreciate this."

"Your father doesn't care about you."

From her vantage point, Katara could see Zuko's good eye widen at this statement. "You-" he growled before calming himself down. "You won't get paid if you don't help me."

June glanced disdainfully at him before sighing and opening the door wider to let him in. "Your crew stays outside though. Or I won't let you in again." she added when he opened his mouth to say something.

"Fine," he snapped, dragging Katara's tank behind him as he went inside. "Wait for me on the boat," he addressed. A member of the crew nodded before shouting a command, and walking away with the rest of the men.

June bolted the door shut behind the three of them.

She held out a pale hand and he put the compass on it. "What else are you here for?"

He had something else he came for? Zuko didn't seem surprised that she knew. "I need you to give her legs," he said gesturing towards Katara.

Legs? She felt something like a combination of fear and excitement course through her body. She had a tail all her life. Of course she wondered what it would be like to have legs, but she never thought that she would actually get them- swimming with a tail was a perfectly fine way to get around. But on the other hand, why would they need her to have legs?

"Hmm…" June finished scrutinizing the compass and flipped the box shut, before turning to glance at Katara. "God Zuko, she's so young. How'd you catch her?"

"Came back for her brother. Which was… unexpected," he replied, arms folded over his chest.

Katara felt a pang go through her chest at the mention of her brother. She missed him already.

"Hmph. A little surprising she didn't swim away. Alright, follow me." She walked off abruptly leaving Zuko behind. Grumbling, he pushed it down the long hallway and into one of the rooms.

June had already started splashing things into a cauldron when they arrived.

Katara looked around curiously. The room was surprisingly small, cluttered with various items. There was a heap of twisted metal in the corner, and books and jars lined the walls. She had never seen anything like this before.

"Ah! Finally!" The woman scooped a mixture out of the cauldron and into a small bowl.

"Great! Will that make her human?" Zuko said impatiently, reaching for it.

Katara hid a smile as she whacked him with a spoon. "It's for Nyla, idiot. Your problem is easy."

With a snap of June's slender fingers, Katara felt a blinding pain in her tail. A hoarse scream filled the room and it took her a moment to realize she was the one making that noise. Through the pain, she registered Zuko wincing.

The scales on her tail felt as though they were melting and she squirmed uncomfortably as she tried to escape the burning sensation.

After what felt like centuries, the pain reduced to a dull throb. Shakily, she took a breath, eyes still closed. There was something wet on her face. Tears she realized.

"Oh my god," she heard a male voice whisper in slight awe.

She opened her eyes to see two smooth, tanned legs curled up in front of her. I have legs.

Still in shock, Katara lifted one slightly numb appendage up. I. Have. LEGS. she thought again as she wiggled her toes experimentally. It felt weird not having a single tail.

"I'll go get some clothes for her," June said softly. This was the first bit of compassion she had seen since Katara had first set eyes on her.

When she left, Zuko cleared his throat. "So, uh… June seems to like you."

Katara glared at him reproachfully. Why was he trying to make conversation?

He cleared his throat. "Sorry. You probably can't even understand me."

She continued to glare. Of course I understand you jelly-legged, moronic, nincompo-

June burst back in holding Katara's necklace and a folded set of fabric.

Frowning, Katara touched her throat. All her fingers felt was bare skin. How did June get a hold of her mother's necklace?

As though she had read her mind, June answered her question "Magic is truly incredible," the pale woman said, placing the clothes by Katara.

Her blue eyes followed the other woman and widened as she handed the small pendant to Zuko. "Throw it back into the ocean if you want her to become a mermaid again."

He nodded, tying it around his wrist. "And the compass?"

June shook her head, dark hair swaying. "Nothing's wrong with it. But I have a feeling you'll figure it out sooner or later."

He looked confused before awkwardly nodding once again. "Oookay… one more thing… is there anyway you could make her…" he gestured vaguely at Katara. "... understand and communicate with me?"

At this, she laughed. "Oh she understands you, alright. She's just been playing you for a fool. Now get out, I want to talk to the girl for a minute," June said, pushing the protesting man out the door.

She shut it and helped Katara stand. "Alright, I'll get you dry and show you where to wear what. But some advice at this point, your only hope for survival is doing whatever the prince tells you. If you do that, you may see the pole again, and I get paid. Everyone's happy."

Katara gave a questioning look, still not willing to talk. How much could she trust this lady anyway?

"He's an exiled prince blah blah, he can tell you his sob story later. So this piece goes over your chest, and this goes over the underwear…"

The clothes were soft, but the fabric still felt odd against her usually bare skin. She pulled nervously at the top while June let Zuko back in.

"Is she ready to leave?" he asked, brushing his shaggy black hair out of his eyes.

June shrugged. "Yeah… I'm not sure about how well she can walk though. So when am I getting paid again?"

He gritted his teeth. "Soon."

Katara felt his warm, callused hand gently grab her bicep. She stood shakily, and then nearly toppled over.

"It may take a while for her to learn," June said as the trio slowly made their way to the front door. "And on another note, don't come back until you're ready to pay me. I swear, if you bring one more mermaid to my door I will fry you and feed you to my shirshu."

And with that, the door was dramatically slammed in their face.

For a moment they stood there, before starting to walk back to the ship.

"So you can talk?" Zuko asked, slightly reproachfully.

Katara ignored him, eyeing her mom's necklace on his wrist. He followed her gaze and laughed. "Not a chance. Not until we figured out what happened to my compass and find the gem."

Her mouth turned down in a frown as she continued to try and pick her way through the sand. The burgundy skirt wasn't very practical for this kind of thing- maybe she could get pants later.

There won't be a later, she reminded herself. She would figure out a way to steal her mother's necklace back and get into the ocean before they moved even further from the pole.

She stumbled slightly, and the scarred boy's grip on her arm tightened slightly. "Are you alright?"

Katara glared at him.

"Still not talking, huh?" She could hear the anger bubbling under the surface of his words. "We're going to change that very soon."


End file.
